Couch.



No. 855,176. PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

J. ROBY a F. J. GROUGH.

GOUGH.

LPPLIGATION FILED HAY 29', 1906.

' 2 SHEETS-'SHEET 1.

Arromv AsHINoforl o c n TH: ,mms PETERS o No. 855,176. PATENTED MAY 28.'1907.

J. HOEY n P. J. GROUCH.'

0011011. APPLIOATION FILED HAY 29, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESS/ES:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

JOHN HOEY AND FRANK J. CROUCH, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; SAID.

CROUCH ASSIGNOR TO SAID HOEY, l

ooUCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern: y

Be it known that we, JOHN HOEY and FRANK J. CROUCH, citizens of theUnited States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inCouches, of which the following is a speciiication. 1

Our invention relates to improvements in couches and like structures.

It consists in combinations of parts, and in details of constructionwhich will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in whichd Figure l is a front view partly sectioned.

Fig. 2 is a section on line a-a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of oneend of frame. Fig. 4 shows a front extension member. Fig. 5

Fig. 6 is a view of Figs. 7 and 8 are shows a truss member. one of thelocking links. construction details.

The couch as constructed consists of metal frames A, bent to form theends, and these ends are supported upon iron base bars 2, and are alsoconnected with each other between the ends by anO'le or tubular steelbars 3. Suitable diagona braces 4 are placed between the upright endsand the horizontal bars to assist in maintaining these parts inposition.

The lower ends of the bars, when of angular form, are iitted as follows:One portion of the angle bar extends down alongside the horizontal barto which it is bolted. The angle of the vertical bar is slit upasui'ficient distance, and the other portion of the bar is y bent atright angles, and is bolted upon the flat portion, as shown at A. Thisdevice provides for a very rigid connection V,between the parts.

The structure when made in the form of what is known as a davenport hasarms 6 which may bemade of angular or tubular steel, the front bars ofwhich extend down parallel with the front vertical portions of the seatframes A, and are secured thereto. If made angular, the inner flange ofthe angle is cut so that it may be bent at right angles, forming the topbar or arm-rest, and another out at the rear allows the vertical rearbar to extend downward and be bolted to the frame A. This rear portionof these arms is secured to the part A at some distance in iront of therear end of A. The back 7 is similarly formed of angle or tubular ironbent or united toform three sides of a rectangle',

Patented May 28,1907.

extending downwardly exterior to the side flanges of A, to which thisyextension flange is pivoted so that the back may be raised to stand inan'approximately vertical position, or it may be let down into ahorizontal position, with the end pieces resting upon the top of therear extension of the part A. This extension is so wide that when theback lies in the horizontal position, it is sufliciently supportedWithout the use 'of any legs or other means for supporting that part ofthe back which projects behind A, and the weight of the seat portion ofthe frame is suflicient to prevent any tilting of the couch by reason ofweight placed upon the extreme outer edge of the back portion, when inthis horizontal position. If found desirable however, it may beadditionally supported by means of the links 9 which are pivoted to theend rails of the back at a point above that at which these ends arepivoted to the part A. These links extend through slots l0 made in therear vertical portion of the angle ironl arms, and the front ends of thelinks are bent, or formed into hooks o r otherwise provided with stopswhich will Contact with the slot in the angle iron arm when the back isin its horizontal position, thus forming an additional brace andsecurity to strengthen the parts. These links are formed with notches 1lwhich engage with the shoulders of the slots in the arm sections throughwhich the links slide, so that when the back is raised to its verticalposition, these notches engaging the shoulders of the slots hold theback in this position.

When it is desired to let the back down it is necessary to raise thelinks in some manner to disengage the latches, and this is effected asfollows: The notches 1l are continued backwardly toward the pivot pointsof the links, at an inclination or angle, as shown at 11a, and from theapex of this angular portion, the notch is again formed as shown at 11b.By pressing the back forward, the in.- clined edges will ride over theshoulder through which the link slides, and then by suddenly pulling theback toward the rear, the rear portion of the incline 11b bears suchrelation to the shoulder of the slot. that it will cause the link tojump over the notch by IOO a yielding support.

which it is ordinarily retained, and theback held in a verticalposition. The link after thus jumping the notch, will rest with its'smooth inner edge upon the shoulder of the slot, and the'back can thenbe easily let down to its horizontal position.

This device is especially useful in ,structures of considerable length,such as couches, davenports and the like; because it is not possible forone person to lift the links at both ends of the couch at the same time,whereas by this forward and sudden backward movement of the back, bothlinks will 'be simultaneously disengaged from the-locking shoulder andthe back may be easily let down.

Any suitable fabric may be employed to form the surfaces of the seat andback, and an elastic support for the upholstery which is afterwardapplied. In the present case, we have shown a fabric composed ofinterlocking links of wire 13 extendin longitudinally and transversely,the end lin is of the longitudinal series being connected with spiralsprings 14 which have their outer ends attached to the end bars of theseat and back frames, so that any pressure brought upon this fabric willelongate the springs and make Either or both edges of the seat structureare formed by a flat rectangular bar 15 with which the transverse wiresof the fabric are connected. This front bar having its greatest widthhorizontally forms a better edge support for the fabric than if made ofround wire.

Considerable difficulty is experienced in preventing the steel bars frombeing bent inwardly by the constant tension of the springs under theweight which is put upon the fabric, and in order to overcome this 1have shown truss frames 16 extending within the frames upon which saidtension is exerted. These trusses have their deepest portion centrallylocated, and by means of .screws or equivalent devices 17, any suitableor desired tension may be brought upon them, and the bars thusmaintained'in a substantially straight position.

In conjunction with the link fabric heretofore described we may alsoemploy spiral springs, as at 18, the lower ends of which are supportedupon transverse bars19 extending between the longitudinal iron bars 3 ofthe main frame and forming supports for the spiral springs, the upperVends of which are clipped to the fabric wires, and thus serve tosupport them. a en this structure is to be used as a davenport, we makeindependent wooden ends and back bars, which may be made in anyornamental form, and these wooden ends are adapted to fit over the angleiron endsof that portion heretofore described, and are bolted orotherwise secured to the iron interior frame. These wooden ends areindependently supported, so that both the metal and the wooden portionform a combined v'structure, the parts of which may be separatedwhenever desired, the iron structure forming a sufficient support initself, and when the wooden portions have been added, the additionalstrength is provided. The wooden end structures may also be united byconnecting rails, when desired, and the uphol stery is applied in theusual manner for such structures.

We have heretofore described the struc-y ture particularly ,adapted foruse as a davenport, the back turning down to form a sufliciently widestructure for purposes of a bed. If it be desired to make the devicestill wider,

- a leaf or extension made in the same manner of angle iron may behinged or pivoted to the either with or without the arm rests previouslydescribed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is l. A couch consisting of an angle iron base,

a main frame, the ends of which are formed of' angle iron notched andbent at right angles to form a horizontal portion, and. vertil cal legs,said legs having the lower ends ver tically slit on the line of theangle, and one of the flanges' turned at right angles, and riveted tothe top of the base part and the other flange extending downwardly andriveted to the vertical flange of the base bar. v

2. An improved furniture structure hav ing in combination an interiormetallic frame, an exterior wooden frame channeled to t the metallicframe and slidable from one end to inclose and expose the same, andindependent supporting devices for each frame.

3. The combination in a couch and davenport of ametallic seat frame andarms, a back pivoted to the seat frame in front of its rear edge, andmeans for holding it in either a vertical or horizontal position, anexterior wooden frame channeled to fit the metallic main frame andslidable from the rear to inclose or expose said frame, and independentsupporting devices for each frame.

11. An improved Acouch or like structure having in combination a mainframe, a metallic seat frame, the ends of which are formed of angle ironbent at right angles to form a horizontal portion, and vertical legs,said legs having their lower ends vertically slit on the line of theangle to form braced connections between the legs and the base IOO Gbarof the main frame, one of said slitted portions being` bent and securedto the horizontal Aface of the base bar and the other slitted portionbeing bent at right-angles to the rst 5 named slitted portion and beingSecured to the vertical face of the base bar.

5. An improved furniture structure having in combination an interiormetallic frame comprising a seat-portion and a back-por- [o tion, anexterior Wooden frame channeled to t the metallic frame and slidablefrom the rear to inclos'e and expose the same, said eX- terior framehaving independent caster supports.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto I5 set our hands in presence oftwo subscribing K Witnesses.

JOHN HOEY. FRANK' J. CROUCH. Witnesses:

CHARLES F. HOEY, WALTER R. PEASE.

